OTTAWA — The NDP deputy leader, Libby Davies, is urging Canadians to “speak out” against the growing bloodshed in Gaza, but has declined to discuss with the news media her strong views on the Israel-Palestine conflict.

While that is in keeping with leader Tom Mulcair’s strict approach to caucus discipline — only the leader and the official party critic are supposed to speak to the news media on issues — she has been more outspoken on social media.

Davies has criticized a B.C. party activist who recently said he’s been punished by the NDP for alleging in 2012 that Muclair muzzles MPs, particularly Davies, on Middle Eastern issues.

“Spreading false information won’t help,” Davies wrote on her Facebook page in reference to Paul Manly, who was blocked by Mulcair’s staff from seeking the nomination to run in the Nanaimo-Ladysmith riding in the 2015 election.

The Middle East has divided New Democrats for years. Mulcair released a lengthy statement earlier this week intended to express a balanced view toward the Israel-Gaza conflict.

He said New Democrats are “deeply concerned” and “watching in horror” at what’s happening, adding that Israel’s “attacks and incursion into Gaza have already caused too many civilian casualties.” But Mulcair said it is “utterly unacceptable” for Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants to fire rockets at civilians in Israel.

“Hamas is a recognized terrorist organization and Israel has the right to defend its citizens from these attacks, while doing its utmost to protect civilians.”

Davies, the Vancouver East MP, has expressed some views on Facebook and Twitter that don’t appear to mirror the approach taken by Mulcair. She has made several posts that focus primarily on the carnage in Gaza.

She called on Ottawa to “uphold international law and human rights in the face of aggression and harm to innocent civilians” — though she doesn’t say whether she was referring to Gazans, Israelis, or both.

She added that she was “dismayed that Canada would criticize the UN for speaking out in regards to tragic loss of life of innocent people in Gaza. We must uphold the rule of law and call for end to violence, whether it be rockets, mass bombings and occupation.”

She was referring to Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird’s recent criticism of a UN Human Rights Council resolution authorizing an inquiry into abuses in Gaza. Baird said the council turned a “blind eye” to the “abhorrent terrorist acts of Hamas.”

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On Wednesday, Davies, declaring it “important for Canadians to speak out,” urged her following to sign an NDP colleague’s petition calling for an end to offensive actions from both sides.

Several of her supporters praised her and denounced her leader’s approach.

“Thanks Libby! Shame on Mulcair!” wrote Soheila Nikzadeh.

“Libby, you are a hero of mine,” declared Ken Palfrey.

“You will speak out for the oppressed at home and abroad. What of your cowardly leader?”

Davies has turned down several Vancouver Sun interview requests: “I have been tweeting and putting comments on (Facebook) on this over the past two weeks or so. There’s nothing to elaborate,” she said by email

In 2010, Davies caused a furor when she was asked at a Vancouver rally if Israel’s occupation of Palestinian lands began with the war of 1967 or 1948. She chose the latter, appearing to suggest that the creation of the Israeli state that year was illegitimate.

She also said she was “probably” the strongest pro-Palestinian MP in Parliament, and said there was fear among MPs to debate issues like boycotts, sanctions and other measures to pressure Israel.

“If you are perceived to be anti-Israeli occupation somehow you’re also branded as anti-Semitic. To me it’s sort of a new McCarthyism that’s taken place.”

Davies later issued a statement saying her comment about 1948 was a “serious and completely inadvertent error.” She apologized and said she’s never questioned Israel’s right to exist.

Davies supported Brian Topp, Mulcair’s main rival rivals for the party leadership, after Jack Layton’s death in 2011. Topp was the main vehicle during the race for party stalwarts who feared Mulcair would move the party too far to the centre.

But Davies retained her post as deputy leader after Mulcair prevailed, and sits next to her leader in the House of Commons.

Mulcair, asked recently if Davies is on a “tight leash,” replied that he has “incredible confidence” in her and often relies on her advice during question period.

He said the NDP is playing a far different role now that it is the official Opposition. And requires greater caucus discipline, he indicated.

“When you’ve got 10 or 12 members of Parliament you’re going to do what you can to get your column inches (in newspapers). But we’re not content to remain the conscience of Parliament,” Mulcair told The Sun.

“We’re vying for power in the next election. We’re professional, we’re a very disciplined caucus.”

Davies, 61, was first elected to the House of Commons in 1997. She had previously made her name in Vancouver as an outspoken social activist and city council member who ran unsuccessfully for mayor against Phillip Owen in 1993.

In 2001 she and former MP Svend Robinson supported the New Politics Initiative, a movement launched to disband the NDP and create a more left-wing party. The NPI fizzled out after Layton, with the support of Robinson and Davies, became leader in 2003.

Davies is one of the party’s most passionate left-wingers.

And she has no plans to relinquish that role despite her more low-key media profile.

Responding to speculation in some Vancouver circles that she won’t run in the next election, scheduled for late next year, she replied in an email: “I plan to hang in there.”